On The Horizon
by Lovisa Devereux
Summary: TM. Evelyn contemplates life after her adventures at Hamunaptra. "You never know what is going to be on the horizon. You can never be certain if what you see is a mirage or not..."
1. Chapter 1

**A change of pace from me now, and a change of direction methinks for this story. I've had this on the back burner for a while and seeing as I have a terrible habit of starting stories and then juggling all the plots I thought I may as well intrigue you all with this one ;)**

A lone boat made its way slowly, but surely up river. Evelyn Carnahan watched as the two man crew busied themselves with robe and sails. They spoke to themselves in their native chatter all the while seemingly unaware of the ominous task that the current was posing to them. Up-river on the Nile was never easy, especially with the amount of traffic it gained especially in the hottest seasons.

All her life she had wanted to find residence in Egypt, and now she had it- a rare moment where she could appreciate the beauty of the country in its native radiance. A radiance that her mother would have appreciated almost everyday without fail.

A breeze played with her loose tresses- it was this closeness that she appeared to feel that brought the smile to her lips. Long gone where the days where should would shed a tear or reminisce; she felt slightly troubled when her mother suddenly came to her thoughts.

But she knew why she had.

Turning away from the river and gathering her skirts, Evelyn made her way back to the small house that was built not far from the banks of the river itself. In one hand she carried books and in the other a bible.

She had never been too religious, not that she was all atheist you understand. Her Christianity had always guided her through her youngest years, when her father was away on business her mother carried on sending her and Jonathan to Sunday school even though Mrs Carnahan herself was Muslim. When her parents passed, she rebelled. All her pent up grief and anger caused her to throw herself even deeper into her studies and turn her back on anything else. The Carnahans were cremated; an unusual and controversial ritual in its own right. Their ashes were scattered in both the English estate and the Egyptian.

"Dust to Dust." was the one phrase that stuck with both her and Jonathan in the weeks that had followed, almost haunted them.

She reached the French doors and allowed herself a fleeting moment before entering. Inside, her fiancé was busy throwing bags and clothes around and muttering obscenities.

She took the moment greedily to look at him without him knowing. The way his fair hair fell over his soft blue oceans of eyes made her stomach flutter…his strong arms…the musculature of his legs…

Feeling herself blush, she blinked in a bid to compose herself and then asked-

"Darling is everything alright?"

Surprised, Rick looked up and dropped the canvas bag he had ripped in an attempt to close it.

"Goddamn it Evie how many clothes do you have?"

"Not as many as you'd think."

"Tell the bags that."

He grinned to show his mockery rather than scold, and Evelyn felt a surge of love towards him. Ever since his impromptu proposal a few weeks prior she couldn't take in how it was all finally happening to her. She was going to get married, hopefully put their little adventure behind them and…

Well, do whatever the heck they liked.

"I was thinking that if we have the wedding in two months time, we would have time to start the new season at Tel-El-Amarna-"

Rick looked over in surprise, rolling up his sleeves as though preparing for a fight. "Hell no."

"We could hire some help from the new board at the-" She faltered, realising what he had just said. "Excuse me!" She placed her small hands on her hips, taking a deep breath. "I told you that this was what I wanted to do Rick, I am so close to getting recognised by the Bembridge scholars. I wish we could have told them about Hamunaptra-"

"Go for it, but I won't be cleaning up after them." He made his way around the various stools and stands that blocked his path, almost knocking over a brightly painted vase.

"Oooh, don't start that again." She grinned, excitement rising in her stomach as he approached,. She knew that look in his eyes.

Sensing her lust for him, he made a grab for her, clutching her squealing form and kissing her soundly. Just as she was getting lost in the kiss, the front door slammed and Jonathan flew in.

Or rather, was thrown in.

"I say, is that necessary?"

"Jonathan!" Evelyn shoved Rick off and started towards the heap of her brother.

"Rather undignified that!" He brushed himself off, creased and dusty. Then spotting company added-"Evie! Richard my good man, please tell this gentleman to leave me- ow!"

Jonathan was poked until he fell into a nearby armchair by a small stout man with greying hair and jodhpurs.

"Which of you is responsible for le idiote!" The man was French and visibly irate. His chins shook as he spoke, and his monacle fell from his eye.

"I am Monsieur." responded Evelyn curtly.

"Why the hell are you barging in?" bellowed Rick, taking a step forward. He hadn't like the mans entrance. Evelyns hand stopped him.

"What have you done now Jonathan?"

"I am sick and tired of zis, zis ah! He comes around ze stalls, telling everyone how he is archaeologist, how he is famous and how he is perfect to advize zem. He iz a fraud and I want him removed! He takes a ridiculous profit from the sales from stalls zat aren't even his! Fakes! Forgeries!" The mans face reddened more shades that weren't flattering.

Jonathan looked sheepish in the armchair, his hair and blue suit dishevelled.

"I was merely providing a service-"

"No. You were providing a nuisance! You will no longer trouble this man, I am so very sorry Monsieur, it won't happen again." Evelyn led the man out of the front room, leaving Jonathan to face Rick's wrath.

"Stop causing trouble for your sister."

"I am a reputable businessman."

"You're a pain in the ass. "

"I say that's below the cuff-"

"Evie's trying to make something of herself and all you're doing is pulling her down."

"You're ruining our family name!" Evelyn stormed back in with perfect timing, slamming the door behind her. " After all father did for us, you go gallivanting around selling forgeries and getting yourself into debt. I can't take anymore of this Jonathan, Father would be ashamed! Your career is nonexistent and I won't let mine end up the same."

"I'm sorry Old Mum-"

"No, you aren't sorry at all. You'll never change-"

"I love you sis, no jest. I was merely trying my hand at the prospect of making imitation works for the tourists." His face was serious, but O'Connell saw straight through it.

"Get a proper job!" chipped in Rick, scowling.

"Leave it Rick. It isn't worth the trouble. Jon, are you still coming to speak to the Priest with me? It's next week."

"Of course."

"Don't let me down Jon. I mean it."

"It's as good as done."

When Jonathan didn't show any signs of retreating to his room, Evelyn let out a sigh and reached for her purse and withdrew a five pound note.

"Shoo. And don't make me have to send Rick to fetch you! Honestly, you're both as bad as each other."

Her voice diminished as she headed back out to look at the river again, bible retrieved. Rick winced, remembering the time he had been sent on duty to collect her wayward brother and had ended up in an equally worse state after a few rounds that he's been talked into. The local tipple was lethal, to say the least. Many fondly referred to it as 'camel piss.'

He watched her back as she left, taking in every last detail of her. She was perfect, everything he'd ever wanted and everything he'd never knew he'd wanted until the day he clapped eyes on her. It had taken him a while but the instinct had always been there to look out for her. He just hoped he could keep her happy, be good enough for her. Her brother was certainly keeping them on their toes.

Evelyn watched as two birds landed on the waters surface, seemingly unaware of her being so close to them, but jumped and scared them away when she felt a muscular arm wrap itself around her waist.

"Cent for 'em."

"I believe the term is 'penny for them' dear."

Rick stroked her back.

"I'm okay Rick, honestly. I just wish Jon would grow up."

"You weren't thinking that before I came out."

He could read her like a book.

"I'll tell you later. Fetch me some tea would you? I fancy having a cup outside as the sunsets." She smiled. "Care to join me?"

His smile said it all. "Sure."

Now it was her turn to watch him as he walked into the kitchen, she heard the teapot boiling and she sighed. She longed to get back into the field; Hamunaptra had scared her, had made her realise a lot of things about herself and the world but she finally knew what it felt to be alive.

She just hoped Rick wouldn't be too shocked when she told him.

She knew she couldn't manage to keep him off the trail for long, and it was a subject she hoped she could avoid for as long as possible. She knew however, in her heart of hearts that it wasn't right not to share something so important with her future husband given all they'd been through.

But instead she tucked the letter back into the folds of her dress; she could tell him later.

Everything would change…even more so. She would be travelling…possibly all the time. She'd need to have her feet grounded and her wits about her. She was glad she hadn't rode off the back of Hamunaptra, but some of the trinkets had certainly made an impression. It nearly killed her when she had to lie about where they were from.

It was at rare moments like this that she wished she could see the future. Not too far ahead, but enough to know if she was going to make the right decision, or if buying that scarf would send the stall into disarray...

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**Hope you enjoyed so far! any guesses where I'm going with this? much thanks to Ari as always for helping me along!**


	2. Chapter 2

The sun was making its descent through the sky at a leisurely pace. The birds had all but flown away and the rays were cooling upon her face, signalling that she should probably go inside soon… but Evelyn couldn't tear herself away.

Was she doing the right thing?

She didn't doubt his intentions towards her, but would this be something they could both share together? He didn't hide his aversion to digging up more tombs, disturbing more peace…He didn't seem the breadwinner type, he didn't seem obligated to deny her her own career based upon masculine prejudices.

"Rick?"

Her voice pulled him out of his own thoughts, thoughts of the future. He noticed that they had both been out of character lately, musing on their own futures and their future combined. Her face was hiding something, he knew that much.

Unable to conceal her expression, and unable to contain it any longer she pulled out the letter from the folds of her skirt. Handing it to him with an encouraging nod, he carefully unfolded the envelope and slipped the weighty paper out.

She watched him skim the words, her palms sweaty and her breath held. This was the reaction she cared about most, why Jonathan hadn't been told yet…

"Well, this changes things." Her voice was flat, uninterested.

Her heart skipped a beat until his face lifted and bestowed his crooked smile upon her. "Evie this is incredible! This is the news you've been waiting for!"

She smiled back. "And that is exactly why I am going to politely decline."

His face dropped. "What?"

"I'm going to say no Rick-" She raised a hand to both quieten him and gesture for the letter back. "I don't want what they have to offer. I don't want to be a _novelty._" She said the word with disgust, wrinkling her nose. "I know what I want from my life and I don't need those stiff collared-"

Her face reddened before she caught sight of Ricks bemused expression. "What I mean to say is, I've been through enough to see things clearly now. Offering me a chance at Bembridge is only going to benefit themselves and not me, not us. I know you will think me a hypocrite but if we sell one or two smaller pieces from the city then we could fund our own dig-"

Rick grasped her forearms and lifted her from the chair until she stood. He kissed her soundly, and only stopped to whisper to her.

"Evelyn, honey whatever the hell makes you happy is what we will do."

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Sorry for this being so short, I hadn't written anything else for this story so this is merely an exercise to see if I still have it in me! Let me know what you think...I could leave it here or progress on towards their wedding etc. I welcome the critique :D


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